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A Percentage Analysis of the Telomere Length in Parkinson's Disease Patients

¹ Division of Molecular and Clinical Gerontology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and ² Division of Clinical Genetics, Department of Molecular Genetics, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

Address correspondence to Toyoki Maeda, MD, PhD, 4546, Tsurumihara, Beppu, Oita, 874-0838, Japan. E-mail: maedat{at}beppu.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Telomeres are the repeated sequences at the chromosome ends which undergo shortening with cell division. The telomere shortening of the peripheral leukocytes is also facilitated by enhanced oxidative stress in various kinds of disease including ischemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, apoplexy, and Alzheimer's disease. Telomere shortening in Parkinson's disease (PD) has not yet been reported. The pathogenesis for PD is also regarded to be associated with oxidative stress. We investigated 28 Japanese male PD patients ages 47–69. Although we could not find a statistical difference in the mean telomere length of peripheral leukocytes between the PD patients and the control participants, we found the mean telomere lengths to be shorter than 5 kb in only the PD patients and a significant PD-associated decrease in the telomeres with a length ranging from 23.1 to 9.4 kb in the patients in their 50s and 60s. These observations suggest that telomere shortening is accelerated in PD patients in comparison to the normal population.

Key Words: Telomere • Parkinson's disease • Aging • Oxidative stress • Cell senescence